For instance, Columbus, Ind., which includes several machine manufacturers, ranks first among all 381 metro areas with exports accounting for 51 percent of total GDP in 2015. Wichita and Seattle (aerospace) rank relatively high, as do Portland and Ogden, Utah, (electronics) and Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, La., (energy), according to the analysis.

Many larger cities have higher total exports, but with more diversified economies, they are less reliant on trade. So are government towns and tourist destinations.

Among California metro areas, San Jose ranks the highest – 62nd, with $27.4 billion in exports accounting for 15 percent of its GDP. San Francisco comes in at No. 151 with its exports totaling 11 percent of its economic output.

While Sacramento boasts nearly $7.4 billion in exports, that’s only 6 percent of GDP, ranking all the way down at No. 340 and No. 97 among the 100 biggest metro areas. (Memo to Sacramento economic development officials: This is another area with lots of room for improvement.)

Faqiang Ren, deputy consul general at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, dropped by The Bee’s editorial board the other day to remind us that trade between the United States and China is about $580 billion a year. He didn’t mention that the U.S. trade deficit with China was nearly $350 billion last year, or that 3.4 million jobs were lost due to that imbalance between 2001 and 2015, according to one study.

That’s what Trump harps on when he talks tough. But a trade war wouldn’t be good for anyone – certainly not California, the No. 2 exporting state, but also not for red states, including No. 1 Texas. Overall, counties that Trump won count on exports for 13 percent of their GDP, compared to 10 percent for those that supported Hillary Clinton, according to the Export Monitor.

And Jock O’Connell, a trade economist affiliated with Beacon Economics, computes that if Trump actually goes through with a 20 percent “border tax” to pay for his wall, states that voted for him would pay 70 percent of the bill since that’s their share of imports from Mexico.

Even Trump supporters who chanted, “Build the wall,” wouldn’t be thrilled about that.

About This Blog

Foon Rhee, an associate editor, joined the The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board in February 2010 after reporting and editing for newspapers in Massachusetts and North Carolina and keeping his opinions to himself. He graduated from Duke and went to graduate school during a fellowship at the University of Hawaii. Foon Rhee can be reached at frhee@sacbee.com or 916-321-1913. Twitter: @foonrhee.